Within moments, Rainbow Dash arrived at the castle in Canterlot. It was just as she had remembered it the last few times she was here. Just like when it hosted the Grand Galloping Gala, it was astonishingly regal. The white outside walls seemed much brighter in the sunlight, and without a doubt, it stood out as the centerpiece of not just Canterlot, but all of Equestria. Unlike then, the castle was much less densely occupied. It was busier than when Princess Celestia had called her, Twilight, and the rest of their friends to brief them about Discord's reign, but now that Rainbow had the chance to actually survey her environment, it seemed much larger, inside and out.
She stood for a moment in the immense lobby. There were only a few other ponies within sight, and they all seemed to have business on the mind. Rainbow's mind began to drift from the business she came to see to, and she wondered to herself how many times her home might be able to fit in just this room. Her pondering was interrupted by a bold, gruff voice.
"Can I help you, miss?" Behind Rainbow stood a white Pegasus with a silvery mane and hazel eyes, clad in golden guard's armor. His demeanor demanded authority in every way. Whether he intended it or not, he managed to intimidate Rainbow quickly.
"Um… Yeah… I was wondering if I could talk to a prisoner here," Rainbow stammered at first but quickly regained her confidence.
"You want to talk to a prisoner?"
Rainbow withheld the urge to make a remark about echoes. "Yes."
The guard narrowed his gaze and pressed his point. "There are very few prisoners in the dungeons. All of them are murderers. Some of them are serial killers. What business does a young Pegasus like you have with a killer?"
Slightly taken aback by the guard's tone, Rainbow gulped before responding. "I have questions, mostly."
The guard stood firm maintaining the same daunting posture and scrutiny. "And who did you want to ask?"
"Perfection Dash"
For a brief instant, the guard's eyes wavered. He then loosened his stance and stepped back an inch. "And your name is?"
"Rainbow Dash"
"I figured. A mane like that is very uncommon," the guard explained. He looked to his left, then right, then back at Rainbow. "Very well… Follow me."
The guard led Rainbow Dash down a hallway that was, despite the rest of the castle, uncharacteristically bland. The colors were coordinated with the castle's general scheme, but it showed obvious signs of infrequent attention. The rugs, flooring, and walls seemed muted in comparison with the lobby. This hallway also lacked any doors save for the one at the end, and it displayed a distinct lack of any decorative effects. If not for the infrequently spaced windows, the hall would have likely drained the emotion out of anypony passing through it.
"I hope you understand that I will be supervising your visit," the guard stated as they walked down the seemingly infinite hall. "It's not that I expect any violence or collaboration between the two of you, but anytime you deal with someone locked away for killing another pony, it doesn't hurt to prepare for the unexpected."
"I understand."
"It's not too late for you to change your mind. If you have any questions about the case, I could answer those. Or is it closure you're looking for?"
Rainbow hesitated. "Something like that."
The two Pegasi were silent the rest of the way down the hall. Once they reached the door, the guard lifted his front hoof and knocked the door three times. A wooden plate slid aside, revealing a pair of grey eyes. The plate slid back, and after few clicks, the door opened.
"Ah, Chrome Wing! We have a visitor, I see. Or is this a new prisoner who talked her way out of cuffs?" The appearance of this guard surprised Rainbow a bit. All of the guards she had ever seen previously were Pegasus stallions. This one was a stallion as well, but he had no wings; instead, a horn protruded from his very light grey forehead, framed by a perfectly white mane in the absence of a guard's helmet. His lean build almost seemed to betray the armor he wore.
"You know the answer to that." The Pegasus guard spoke bluntly.
A slightly defeated look swept across the unicorn's face, looking very out-of-place behind the powerful armor. His horn glowed faintly for a second, and then he simply stated, "Cell C15."
"Thank you," the Pegasus guard responded. He turned his sights back to Rainbow Dash. "Come on."
"Cell C15? Is that where he is? How did he do that?"
"He can read minds. Not memories, just intentions. It's one of the rarest unicorn talents, and frankly makes him a bit of a pain to put up with. However, he's very useful for predicting when an inmate might try to escape or start a riot. Also, all he'd have to do is say the word, and I'd be escorting you back the way you came."
Rainbow stumbled for a second, looking behind her at the unicorn who had returned to a table of cards, levitating them from stack to stack. Rainbow considered smiling despite the atmosphere for a moment. She decided to maintain her solemnness and continue on her self-given mission. The unicorn's eyes widened, then he stopped and shouted, "Oh, captain! You might want to check on A12 on the way." He then turned back to his game and snickered.
"What's going on in A12?" Rainbow gulped.
"Nothing. A-block only goes to ten, and he knows it." The more serious stallion cast a displeased glance back at the unicorn. Rainbow finally couldn't help but relent to a chuckle. The guard then led Rainbow through a mazelike dungeon, nearly all of the cells empty. The colors and smooth walls of the castle prior were no more; instead only rough grey cobblestone remained. There were no clues as to the time of day outside; there were no windows to provide daylight. Instead, the dungeon was well lit by torches, all of which seemed to be either fresh or preserved by magic. Without the cues of the sun and moon to go by, several of the captives were sleeping, despite it actually being daytime. A few detainees banged on the bars in front of them as Rainbow and the guard passed, but most of the conscious ones simply sat dejected in the corners of their cells.
Rainbow counted the markings on the cells once they passed by a C chiseled into the wall. One, two, and three were empty. The occupant of cell four made her shiver with the narrow glance the blue earth pony inside gave her. The pony in the cell said nothing, but just her eyes alone made Rainbow feel even more nervous than she already was. When she noticed the fact that the prisoners, herself, and the uniform of the guard next to her were the only sources of color in sight, Rainbow found herself noticing how much the grey walls seemed to drain her.
The rest of the cells after number four were vacant. Rainbow only counted half a dozen inmates on the way, making the immenseness of the dungeon seem incredibly strange. The guard seemed to read Rainbow's expression with barely a glance. "From what I hear, Equestria used to be a very different place," he explained. He then answered Rainbow's second question. "Since we have the space now, we move ponies around at random to make sure they don't get a chance to tunnel out or otherwise sabotage a cell. That's a carryover from before the princess found us know-it-all. We keep it up anyway for a few reasons."
At the end of the sentence, both Pegasi stopped in front of the fifteenth cell, housing a sleeping navy blue Pegasus. The guard banged his hoof loudly against the iron bars. "Wake up! You have a visitor!" His voice once again commanded authority that nearly made Rainbow flinch.
The prisoner lifted his head from his front hooves slowly. He was facing the back wall, and Rainbow confirmed her memory with a clear view of his cutie mark. A jagged, five-point star. And it wasn't flush with his coat… just as she was beginning to remember, its edges had no fur. The prisoner turned around, revealing the mark on his other flank, which didn't quite match.
"Who the hell would want to—Rainbow?" The voice was a bit more gravely than Rainbow remembered, but other than that, it was without a doubt the stallion that called himself her father.
"Hi." Rainbow replied curtly. She prepared her next words but much to her surprise, the pony on the opposite side of the bars interjected with words she never expected him to say.
"Rainbow! I missed you so much!"
She was dumbfounded. He always seemed to hate her before. Before she could speak again, the imprisoned Pegasus continued.
"Why did you come? You have to hate me." He dipped his head as he spoke.
"I do. I have questions though. First, why did you do it?" Rainbow felt her voice crack with repressed anger.
"You mean… about your mother? I really… I can't answer that. So much of what I have done is a blur. I do remember I was scared. And I was angry. But those aren't excuses. I remember she said she was leaving and taking you with her. I got angrier and… I don't remember any details. I just remember that I…"
"I don't buy it. You always treated both of us horribly. You should have been happy."
"I know… I'm a horrible father. But I am your father. I didn't want you gone. I had a rough life, and for a long time I couldn't handle life. I didn't want to give you the same childhood I had, but when things got too much for me, I turned to the wrong kind of comfort, and I turned into a monster."
Rainbow growled. The pony pleading for her understanding seemed like a stranger. She couldn't tell if he was sincere or lying like he always did before. "You never told the truth. You said you were perfect at everything. You said your 'wildcard' on your flank proved that, but you always screwed up everything! How do I know you're not lying again?"
A bit of fire lit in the captive pony's eyes. Whether it was anger or defensiveness was indistinguishable, but his voice rose nonetheless. "You want truth? Fine! I've never been good at anything! And your grandmother... she expected me to be something impossible! She named me Perfection, for crying out loud! I was a year older than you were when you got your cutie mark, and I still didn't have one. She finally had enough and told me if I didn't make something of myself, she would do it for me. Then she did this!" He glanced towards his flank. "This isn't a cutie mark, it's a scar! I couldn't get a cutie mark after that! I'm a blank flank!"
Rainbow came to the prison figuring the "wildcard" was suspicious, but she had no idea what it really meant. Her ears pointed backward and her voice lowered. "You can't get a cutie mark?"
"I don't expect you to forgive me, or take pity on me. I just wanted to come clean. A year of solitude will change you. And it helps that all they give us to drink down here is water."
"It's good that you don't expect me to forgive you, because I can't." Rainbow was still quiet, but she still spoke with anger. "But I guess I got what I came for."
"Wait." The navy blue Pegasus paused. "Before you go… I'm proud of you."
"Really? Why is that?" The tone was almost accusatory; Rainbow was sure she caught him in a new lie.
"Do you think you can do something like saving Equestria from eternal night and I wouldn't hear about it?" A tear welled up in the corner of Perfection's eye. "You have friends. That's something I always had a shortage of. And you and your friends defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony. You wielded the Element of Loyalty! Nothing could make me prouder than knowing my daughter became the opposite of what I was."
"That sounded like you've been planning that one a while." Rainbow held back her emotions for a moment, but then conceded, if only slightly. "Thanks." She then said a quiet goodbye, nodded to the guard standing next to her, and the two free Pegasi left the way they came.
Rainbow was silent during the return trip, and took no time to peer into the cells this time through. She wanted to get out of the gloomy dungeon. She was hungry for sunlight. The soul-draining ability of the halls she was walking seemed to grow the longer she stayed. Finally, she and the guard reached the door they had entered through. The guard Pegasus placed a hoof on the plate on the door, slid it across, and looked through it. He peered for a moment, then slid the plate back, clicked a few deadbolts, and opened the door.
Rainbow stopped and looked at the unicorn guard, who turned to her and smiled. "Didn't get what you expected?" Rainbow shook her head. "Well, at least you're acting like you got what you needed. It didn't take a mind-reader to guess that you were nervous."
Rainbow chuckled and displayed the second smile she wore her entire time in the dungeons. She considered speaking, but dithered on the idea. Sensing this, the unicorn lit his horn in a faint glow, and spoke for her.
"I'm Seer," he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Rainbow." His horn glowed again, and he continued. "I can't go to a party tonight, sorry. I wish I could, but somepony's been thinking about escaping on the next cell rotation. I don't think he's stupid enough to try, but I need to check if he plans to follow through before we move him tonight. I'll send you a letter sometime though. Now go have fun with your friends." Seer gestured towards the guard holding the door. "Chrome's not going to hold that door much longer, and you don't want to be late to your own party."
Rainbow smiled and walked to the door. She looked one last time at the unicorn, said, "See ya," and then walked into a much-desired sunbeam casting through a hallway window.